The 2025 Academic Committee Meeting of the Laboratory for Natural Drug Discovery and Industrialization was successfully held recently in Meeting Room N502 at Macao University of Science and Technology (MUST). The meeting was chaired by Academician Yang Baofeng of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and renowned pharmacologist, and led by Academician Zhu Yizhun, Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, Associate Vice President of MUST and Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Chief Scientist of China’s National Basic Research Program (973 Program), and Director of the Laboratory for Natural Drug Discovery and Industrialization. A number of leading experts and scholars from China and abroad, as well as representatives of relevant institutions, attended the meeting in a hybrid online–offline format to jointly explore pathways for the laboratory’s high-quality development and innovation in natural drug industrialization.

Distinguished guests included Yu Yusheng, Chairman of the Administrative Committee of the Macao Science and Technology Development Fund; Chen Jimin, Vice Chairman of the University Council and Secretary-General of MUST; Professor Du Zhimin of Harbin Medical University; Professor Zhu Yichun, Professor and Head of the Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology at Fudan University; Zhou Demin, Director of the Ningbo Institute of Ocean Medicine at Peking University and Director of the State Key Laboratory of Natural Products and Biomimetic Drugs; Zeng Fanyi, Director of the Institute of Medical Genetics at Shanghai Jiao Tong University; Ma Jing, Director of the Shanghai Center for Safety Evaluation of New Drugs; Wang Mingwei, Chair Professor at Fudan University; Professor Liu Peiqing, Professor at the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University and Director of the Laboratory of Pharmacology and Toxicology; Huang Min, Director of the Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Sun Yat-sen University; and Feng Qizhu, Senior Technical Officer of the Administrative Committee of the Macao Science and Technology Development Fund.

At the beginning of the meeting, Chairman Yu Yusheng delivered opening remarks on behalf of the Macao Science and Technology Development Fund. He noted that since its launch in 2022, the Laboratory for Natural Drug Discovery and Industrialization has remained focused on core areas of natural drug R&D. The laboratory has established a 34-member high-caliber research team, trained multiple outstanding graduate students, published a number of high-quality SCI papers, and filed 15 patent applications, achieving notable progress in technology transfer and translation. The Fund has cumulatively invested MOP 19.86 million to support the laboratory’s establishment and development. In addition to advancing industrialization, the cultivation of young talent is also a key priority, as it is a critical link in accelerating the translation and commercialization of research outputs. Looking ahead, the Fund will continue to provide strong support for the laboratory to expedite new drug translation, deepen international academic and industry collaboration, and help establish the laboratory as a global hub for natural drug R&D, enabling breakthrough progress in Macao’s pharmaceutical industrialization.

In his remarks, Vice Chairman Chen Jimin stated that the Laboratory for Natural Drug Discovery and Industrialization is a core research platform for biomedicine at MUST. Under the leadership of Academician Zhu Yizhun, the team has worked in unity, tackled challenging problems, and achieved a series of landmark research outcomes. The University attaches great importance to the laboratory’s development, providing more than MOP 30 million in cumulative matching support, including high-quality facilities and advanced research equipment, thereby laying a solid foundation for the laboratory’s work. The laboratory has a well-structured team with a robust talent pipeline, and it has established in-depth collaborations with well-known enterprises such as Beijing Tong Ren Tang, effectively promoting deep integration between research and industry. Going forward, the University will continue to provide comprehensive support in talent recruitment and development, platform development, and resource allocation, enabling the laboratory to further expand external collaboration, accelerate the translation of research outputs, and contribute more to the high-quality development of Macao’s health industry.

Subsequently, Laboratory Director Academician Zhu Yizhun delivered a detailed report on the laboratory’s key progress and major accomplishments in 2025. He explained that the laboratory has further improved and strengthened its infrastructure and research team, and is currently focused on four core R&D pipelines: (1) research and development of SPRC derived from natural products for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis; (2) research and development on the druggability of rhynchophylline, a natural product, for glycemic control and hepatoprotection; (3) development of small-molecule SMYD3 inhibitors from natural products aimed at delaying vascular aging; and (4) pre-NDA studies of SCM-198, a first-in-class natural product–derived innovative drug candidate based on leonurine. Each pipeline has achieved major milestone progress.

Among these, SPRC was approved in July 2025 to initiate a Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. The medicinal crystalline form of leonurine has successfully obtained clinical trial authorization as a Category 1 original chemical drug, and a Phase I clinical study involving 106 subjects has been completed. The results indicate favorable safety and tolerability, and the program has now progressed smoothly into Phase II. In parallel, the laboratory’s research achievements have received multiple honors, including the Second Prize of the 2024 Macao Technological Invention Award and the Gold Award for High-Value Patents in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area. The laboratory has also secured 38 authorized invention patents in China, as well as 16 invention patents for new drugs in the United States and internationally (PCT), and in Japan. Over the past year, the laboratory obtained MOP 55.86 million in new competitive research funding and published 21 SCI papers in internationally recognized academic journals, further strengthening its research capabilities and academic influence.

Academician Zhu Yizhun stated that the laboratory will further leverage the top-tier scientific resources of MUST and Peking University, focusing on key challenges in upstream discovery for natural and innovative drugs, and prioritizing projects such as drug delivery and pre-market research for four original innovative drug candidates. Looking ahead, the laboratory plans to apply for designation as a National Engineering Center, supporting Macao’s pharmaceutical industry in transitioning from an “integration of generics and innovation” model to an “originating innovation” model, breaking through regional development bottlenecks and filling a regional gap in establishing a national-level industrialization incubation platform in the field of natural drugs. The experts attending the Academic Committee highly affirmed the laboratory’s outstanding achievements in basic research and clinical translation, and provided a range of constructive recommendations and guidance on key topics including future development pathways, scaling strategy, annual planning, and the National Engineering Center application.

Finally, Academic Committee Chair Academician Yang Baofeng delivered concluding remarks, fully acknowledging the laboratory’s achievements in establishment and development, and expressing strong expectations and best wishes for its continued innovation and growth. Academician Zhu Yizhun thanked the experts for their guidance and recommendations, and stated that the laboratory will carefully review and incorporate the constructive feedback, further strengthen research and translational efforts in the coming year, fully advance the National Engineering Center application, accelerate clinical translation of products, and make greater contributions to the high-quality development of Macao’s biomedical industry and the coordinated development of the Greater Bay Area’s health industry.